Like much of the Coens’ oevure, The Big Lebowski is a riff on film noir; specifically, it makes several references to the Bogart-Bacall film The Big Sleep, especially the multiple twists, hanging threads and disappearing victims. The fact that the film ends up going nowhere and resolving nothing is actually an in-joke. (IMHO…I’ve never seen the Coens state this, but it seems pretty obvious to me.)
And I loved the Goodman character, 'cause I used to work with an engineer who looked, talked, and acted exactly like Walter, especially his pointless bullshit asides about being a SEAL in 'Nam and his obsession with bowling. Plus, it has the most quotable lines of any Coen film. “The chinaman is not the issue here, dude. I’m talking about drawing a line in the sand, dude. Across this line, you DO NOT… Also, dude, chinaman is not the preferred nomenclature. Asian-American, please.” But a lot of people don’t like it, so you’re not alone.
Unless I’ve missed something, I can’t believe that no one has yet mentioned The Man Who Wasn’t There, the Coen Brothers’ satirical take on Hitchcock, especially Tony Shalhoub as criminal attourney Freddy Riedenschneider: "He told them to look, not at the facts, but at the meaning of the facts. Then he said the facts had no meaning. It was a pretty good speech. It even had me going… "
Blood Simple is still one of their best films, IMHO. While it doesn’t have the humor of some of their later efforts, it is absolutely relentless in cranking up suspense; there’s always one more body than can be conveniently explained or buried, and while the characters aren’t stupid, they keep coming across situations they misinterperate and respond in ways that make the problem worse.
Someone else mentioned A Simple Plan, which is not a Coen film (directed by Sam Raimi, a regular collaborater and friend of the Coens), and it mostly lacks the morbid humor, but is an absolutely stunning film, especially the creepily manipulative Bridget Fonda and the dimwitted-but-more-aware-than-he-seems character played by Billy Bob Thornton. It’s another one of those that cranks up the tension by letting the characters make perfectly reasonable mistakes. You might try Bound, the Wachowski Brothers’ first film. It has a lot of the same dark humor and use of color and shadows that the Coens’ are noted for. John Dahl’s Red Rock West is a good twisty thriller, but not all that quirky, which seems to be what you like.
I vote with those who say to avoid Intolerable Cruelty and The Ladykillers. They have hints of the Coens’ better work but just aren’t really worth two hours. The original Alec Guinness-led version of the latter is well worth watching though, if you can find it. Miller’s Crossing is a watchable mob film, but different from the rest of the Coens’ work.
That’s all I have for now. What did you think of Real Genius, btw?
Stranger